Valerie Chernek PR & Social Media – www.valeriechernek.com

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Dedicated to Bonnie Raindrop for her tenacity and incredible knowledge. The earth is a much better place because of you.

Sometimes you need more than 140 characters to get your message across, but often times short bursts of targeted messages to the right people at the right time can champion a cause or product launch into a raging Twitter storm.

Like any marketing campaign, Twitter storms do not happen overnight. Relationships require leadership, coordination, alignment with PR, social outreach, crazy good graphics (don’t forget to brand them), consistent, relevant hashtags and acute timing. Hire a social community manager to coordinate your Twitter strategy, even before an active campaign begins. It takes a while to identify and tap into energetic people and followers who later become your rainmakers.

#BeeSafe Twitter Storm Campaign

Recently, I took part in a statewide campaign to pass the Maryland Pollinator Protection Act. This grassroots initiative was aimed at important environmental legislation to ensure that non-essential bee-killing pesticides are taken off home and garden store shelves. One of the campaign leaders was my colleague Bonnie Raindrop, courageous beekeepers, activists, and 70 organizations known as the Smart on Pesticides Coalition. They fought monumental odds against big pesticide companies who had lots of bucks and brawn, yet, their strategy worked brilliantly.

#BeeSafe messages held layers of passion, statistics and pleas to compel legislators to pass the bill. One message said, “Don’t make your garden a killing field for pollinators.” Another states, “Sharp increase in hive collapses. Maryland lost 61% in 2015, and 50% in 2014. Numbers leapt from 20% hive loss in 2013.”

The Twitter community wrote to state legislators and Maryland’s Governor. They signed petitions. They talked to press. They stood in protest and united with persistence. They worked tireless hours, weeks, and months to educate citizens and businesses about toxic neonicotinoid chemicals.

I am a concerned citizen and an avid gardener, yet I was ignorant to these horrible chemicals that contaminate our vegetables and flowers and kill critical pollinators that sustain our food supply and plant world.

How to Orchestrate a Great Twitter Campaign

Twitter storms happen when a community cares deeply about a cause or issue. Commercial entities can be quite successful too, with authentic strategies that carefully discuss real benefits of products and services that solve problems.

First, make sure that your social media manager is busy identifying specific target audiences by name.

Build a profile and a special list of those who share common interests.

Maryland’s #BeeSafe campaign was a potent Twitter storm example. It shows how caring citizens can win using social media, even against billion dollar corporate interests. When organizers posted that the Maryland Pollinator Protection Act bill had passed the Maryland General Assembly, the message had reached over 750,000. In one quarter, more than 2,877 tweets were online by 1,228 contributors.

#BeeSafe for Children Tweet Image

Now, it is up to Maryland’s Governor to take the final step to allow the public’s and the Maryland General Assembly’s will for the Maryland Pollinator Protection Act to become law. One that would ensure that these tiny creatures (bees and butterflies) will be protected and that the health of our food chain, citizens, and most importantly children will be preserved for centuries to come.

P.S. Bonnie Raindrop and the #BeeSafe community are some of Earth’s all-time heroes.

Inspiring brand trust is an ongoing challenge for smart content marketers. Why? Because we do business with people we like. We rely on real experiences before we buy. We listen closely when we hear a good story. We like reality TV! And, we like different social media channels. Circulating customer stories is a marketing best-practice. Where do you begin to build credibility and brand trust? Here are thoughts, please add yours!

Case Studies – Press releases: When I hear someone say, “We don’t have any news to write a press release, I wonder if their company or product is dead. If you don’t have customer successes, what have you got?

Social Media: Invite your rainmakers to join the conversation. (Crowdsource)

Sales: Give them customer stories to be excellent at what they do for you.

Newsletters: Get to the point. One theme. Let testimonials make a case for you.